CAMPAIGN ’88 : Simon Preaches Thrift in Frugal Wisconsin
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In a state where Sen. William Proxmire won reelection in 1982 with a campaign that cost all of $145.10, Illinois Sen. Paul Simon is in Wisconsin preaching fiscal conservatism.
“Good old-fashioned Harry Truman pay-as-you-go government,” said Simon, when asked Friday by a group of rubber workers: “Where are you gonna get money to do all them things?”
That message could persuade some Progressive-style Republicans to vote Democratic in the crossover primary and could provide Simon some much-needed sharper contrast between himself and the other candidates.
“Reagan asks us to spend $36 billion on a nuclear aircraft flotilla and nobody seems to get very excited about it,” Simon complained. “I want to spend a few billion dollars on jobs and education, which really is going to help the future of this country, and I get labeled a big spender.”
At a Concordia College stop Thursday, one student asked Simon if he didn’t think government aid and welfare programs constituted “watered-down socialism.”
“Do you receive student aid?” Simon asked.
“Yes,” admitted the student abashedly.
The crowd laughed.
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